The game takes place several years before the franchise' first two games: Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. Players will follow a "young and unrefined" Batman as he makes the transition into the Dark Knight.

The publisher's WB Games Montreal studio will take over development duties from Rocksteady Studios, who created the first two titles. As a report from Game Informer notes, Arkham Origins creative director Eric Holmes was the lead designer on open world action titles Prototype and The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.

Warner Bros. is also developing a handheld Batman title for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita called Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate. The 2.5-dimensional adventure is being developed by Armature Studio, which features three developers of Nintendo's Metroid Prime franchise.

The Batman franchise has proven a huge hit for Warner Bros. Interactive. The 2011 game Batman: Arkham City shipped 4.6 million copies during its first week, double that of Arkham Asylum.

According to Game Informer, Deathstroke is among the main villains appearing in Arkham Origins. More details will be revealed in the magazine's May issue.